Hybrid Aria by Jessica Hall novel Chapter 8

Aria’s POV

The next morning, I woke up, and Lily was already dressed for school, quietly waiting, leaning against my side. Sitting up slowly, my body ached. I reached for my watch glancing down at the small screen that said 9:30 AM. “Shit, we are already late,” I told Lily.

“I tried to wake you; we missed our bus,” she replied, putting her shoes on and trying to tie the laces herself.

“Come here,” I said. She walked over, and I quickly tied her laces. “Pass me my uniform please, Lil.” She quickly did as I asked, passing me my clothes. Putting my bra and panties on, I reached for my blouse Lily was holding. As I moved, I could feel my wound reopening. I slowly placed my hand over it, trying to hold it together. Lily helped me put my black slacks on and my shoes. I quickly tied the laces, before putting my blouse on. I peeled one side of my dressing back, it was starting to heal very slowly.

Pulling the dressing off completely, I quickly reached into my duffle bag, pulling out a new waterproof dressing and covering it again. I then put my blouse on, grabbed our bags, and walked down the hall to the kitchen with Lily following closely behind me. Elizabeth was standing in the kitchen at the sink, washing the dishes from breakfast when we walked in.

“The Alpha isn’t here if that’s what you are wondering.”

“No, I need a lift to Lily’s school. Is Michael still here?”

“No, he is with the Alpha, but I will go grab my keys and run you myself. Meet me in the car,,” she said, walking out of the kitchen towards her room. Lily and I grabbed our bags and walked out to the garage where a heap of cars were lined up. Finding Elizabeth’s green hatchback, we waited beside it until she came out and unlocked the doors. I pulled the front seat forward so Lily could climb into the backseat before getting in the passenger seat.

“Here, take these pain killers when you need to. They won’t make you drowsy but will relieve the pain, and this is my make-up bag. Your bruises are already fading but are still quite visible,” she told me, dumping the makeup bag on my lap. I put the pills in my pants pocket before using the visor mirror to try and conceal my black eye and a bruised jaw. It helped a little, but anyone looking too closely would easily see them. Elizabeth also handed an apple to Lily in the back seat and told her to eat it for breakfast and a lunch box.

“Here Lil, some sandwiches and chips for lunch.” Lily thanked her before eating her apple.

The drive to the school was fast. Elizabeth wasn’t the best driver; she is very heavy-footed; I’m not even sure she knows what a brake is. It was usually a ten or fifteen-minute trip, and she got us to Lily’s school in half the time, which I was glad for. Her driving was starting to make me nauseous. Once we pulled up out front of the school, Lily and I quickly walked to the main office where I signed her in as late before I walked her to her classroom. After saying my goodbyes, I started to walk to work which was surprisingly more exhausting than I thought it would be. My ribs were throbbing, and I knew the dressing was saturated with blood already. Putting pressure on it with my hand while I was walking stopped it from tearing open completely.

As I got closer, I was walking past a group of teenagers when I felt my gums start to tingle. I moved to the side of the footpath, pressing up against the brick building as they walked past. Just as they did, my fangs came out, overwhelming my senses completely. I listened to the sounds of their beating hearts until they were out of view, too afraid to move from my position. All I wanted to do was chase them down and rip into their carotid arteries and feed until I drained them.

Once they were out of view, I took off running to work. When I opened the diner door, I held my breath and ran straight past everyone and to the back, dropping my bag on the ground. I grabbed the wolfsbane bottle and took two huge gulps of it before placing the lid back on the bottle. Zoe was bound to come out soon to check what was wrong with me. Since I didn’t have time to change my dressing again before she came into the back, I placed another straight over the top of it before fixing my blouse, just as she walked back a worried expression on her face.

“You okay, dear?” she asked, rushing over to me.

“Yes, sorry, I’m late. We missed the only bus, and I had to wait for a lift into town,” I told her before picking up my bag to put away.

“Are you sure you’re okay? You’re sweating, and you look a bit pale,,” she said, staring at me. I knew she must be able to see my bruises because she was directly looking at them, making me nervous. Plastering a fake smile on my face, I nodded quickly before answering.

“Yes, I’m fine. It’s because I ran here from the school,” I told her before walking out and putting my apron on. Grabbing the coffee jug, I walked around to all the tables and quietly refilled everyone’s cups. When I reached the last booth, I noticed Alpha Reid sitting dressed in a black suit with a silver tie that matched his eye colour. He was talking to someone who had their back to me. Hearing me approach from behind, the man turned around and glared at me, it was Alpha David and Beta Michael. I dropped my head and filled their mugs quickly. My hands were shaking, making me nearly spill the coffee on the table. Beta Michael looked at me before looking away.

“I can smell wolfsbane all over you and blood,” he told me through the mind link.

“I know I’m sorry, Beta.”

“Just stay away. Alpha Reid won’t hesitate to kill you if he notices you are a Hybrid,” he stated.